House of 1 000 Corpses (2002)

April 12, 2003

FILM REVIEW; An Eerie Kind of Journey To Grandmother's House

By DAVE KEHR

Published: April 12, 2003

Only 1,000? That seems like a conservative estimate of the body count in ''House of 1,000 Corpses,'' written and directed by the heavy-metal rocker Rod Zombie, which opened nationwide yesterday, a tribute to the horror films of the 1970's,

Mr. Zombie (yes, it's his legally assumed name) is clearly a scholar of the roadside slash-and-slaughter movies that achieved their apotheosis with Tobe Hooper's 1974 ''Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'' Though ''Chainsaw'' is the primary citation -- Mr. Zombie's film, too, deals with a group of hapless city kids who fall into the hands of a rural family of inbred psycho-killers -- there are bits and pieces of other films, all sewn together by Mr. Zombie with the zeal of a mad doctor working on a patchwork monster. (Yes, Mr. Zombie also has one of those.)

As much as film buffs might enjoy recognizing references to ''Motel Hell'' and other drive-in classics, Mr. Zombie's encyclopedic approach to the genre results in a crowded, frenzied film in which no single idea is developed to a satisfying payoff. As the dotty, twanging Mother Firefly -- for reasons unknown, Mr. Zombie has named several of his characters for Groucho Marx's greatest roles -- the indefatigable Karen Black gamely presides over a decaying farmhouse filled with eerie pop culture detritus. Her children include Baby (Sheri Moon), a childish sexpot who lures victims to the Firefly farm; Otis (Bill Moseley), a self-styled, Manson-like messiah; and Grampa Hugo (Dennis Fimple), who eats with his mouth open.

Mr. Zombie is both too much of a stylist, always cutting away to oddball inserts, black-and-white flashbacks, negative images and much else, and too little: he is not in enough control of his means to let a mood grow and fester. And festering is what this kind of film is all about.

Written and directed by Rob Zombie; Tom Richmond and Alex Poppas, directors of photography; edited by Kathryn Himoff, Robert K. Lambert and Sean Lambert; music by Mr. Zombie and Scott Humphrey; Gregg Gibbs, production designer; Andy Gould, producer; released by Lions Gate Films. Running time: 88 minutes. This film is rated R.